


Liars Dice

by alchemystique



Series: Discovery [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Captain Duckling, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-04
Updated: 2014-10-04
Packaged: 2018-02-19 21:11:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2403017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alchemystique/pseuds/alchemystique
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grumpy really can't resist the Princess Emma's smiles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Liars Dice

**Liar's Dice**

The day the Jolly Roger had sailed into the bay, he'd been working with the dock master, going over details about a certain shipment of something or other no one actually remembers, at this point, with the excitement of the day.

He can distinctly remember the flash of long golden hair he'd caught sight of along the port side, and the way his heart had hammered in his chest only to plummet miserably as he thought of his own failings - two years gone and most of the kingdom still blamed themselves for the abduction of Princess Emma, but he'd _been_ there, escorting her back to the castle after a ride into the forest. He'd been right at her side when the Black Knights had attacked.

He'd been there to see her grabbed in the moments before the hilt of a blade came crashing down on his head.

He'd gone back about his business as the crew of this new arrival settled the ship, and it was only as he watched the captain lower the gangplank and stride onto the dock that Grumpy heard warning bells. The kind that told him a man wearing that much cow hide and a hook for a hand was someone he should probably warn the guard about.

He'd slunk off to find them while the man smiled charmingly at the dock master, and once he'd returned with tall tales of the pirate Captain Hook ringing in his ears, all hell broke loose.

It was the clanging of swords that caught his attention on the deck of the ship, and only then did he finally catch a good look at the woman he'd seen earlier - like her captain she seemed to sport nothing but leather and a bad attitude, and he watched her fight for a moment, something familiar in the way she moved with the cutlass in her hand, familiar in the biting laughter floating across the early morning air as she knocked out two - three - four of the Royal Guard without so much as breaking a sweat.

She'd paused, then, turning her face up to the sunlight on a happy grin, and Grumpy is absolutely sure he had a heart attack.

It was the _princess_ , no doubt about it, and in the panic of that realization he _may_ have used his town crier voice.

He definitely used the town crier voice.

She'd caught his eye, her grin widening as she held up a hand to stop the crew of the pirate ship from attacking, and then she'd vaulted herself over the gangplank and swung forward to pull Grumpy into a tight hug, her arms squeezing him close to her as her laughter echoed over his shoulder. Grumpy did _not_ cry, but it was a damn near thing, Brother.

Needless to say, he's one of the many men in the princess' life who can't seem to give her a hard 'no' on anything she wants to do.

Grumpy is well aware of the fact that he should be turning the princess right back around on her sneaky ass and send her straight back to the castle. He knows. 

But when the princess turns her shining green eyes on a man (or a dwarf), it's impossible to say no to the woman. She'd learned that at a very early age, and it doesn't look like he's about to see that trick end.

"Come with me, if you're so worried," she says, grinning at him like she knows she's already won. "I'll go to the Pigs Head. I know they have your favorite ale."

"Sister, if I had a hair left on top of my head you'd make it all fall right out again."

Her smile is brighter than the sun as she presses a kiss into his cheek. "Uncle Grumpy, you're the best."

"Don't tell your father," is the only thing he can think of to say, and she practically skips her way down the path as they head into the village.

By the time they make it to the tavern, even Grumpy is feeling light and happy, the inevitable product of spending more than a moment in the company of Snow and Charming's beautiful, sweet daughter, and he actually grins back at Emma as they swing through the doors.

He regrets that a moment later when he realizes they kind of company he's going to be keeping for the night. 

As she presses through the door a cry goes up - ten men crowded around a large table all call out a cheer in the princess' direction, and like the little showman she's become, she does a deep bow, her hand twirling towards her chest as she laughs at the men, and before he can be completely sure what has happened they are both crowded towards the table with tankards already in their hands.

Somehow, he ends up on the opposite side of the table from the princess, who is tucked into the corner with Captain Hook at her hip, and he ends up stuck between a man small (and smelly) enough to be a dwarf with a red cap pulled low over his forehead, and a man whose face is more tattoo than skin. 

_Pirates_.

The princess fits in well, though, shouting out a bawdy insult to a man at the far end of the table before taking a large gulp of ale, and Grumpy takes a moment to watch them all, these horrifying men with their grungy clothes and their missing teeth, all darting happy glances at the princess as though she's their guiding star. 

He finds he doesn't mind them, so much, after all.

They're already well into their cups by the time the tattooed man on his left suggests a game, and he watches with his skin crawling as Emma digs a hand into the captains coat pockets, her grin sly and full of dark intent, the kind he's seen on many a bar wench before. The captain himself looks more than a little distracted by her, eyes drifting below the princess' chin and holding for a moment too long, and Grumpy gulps down the rest of his ale rather than continue watching the pair.

Emma laughs as she presents the table with a pair of die, slamming them down on the table while the crew chuckles around him. Grumpy ignores the heated look on the captains face as his hand disappears below the table.

"I assume you've played before?" he asks Grumpy with a quirk of his brow, and Grumpy stares him down with a look he hopes is half as intimidating as it feels. 

"I know how to play," he says with attitude, and the pirate grins, his tongue sliding over his teeth. 

Miss Anabeth Till chooses that moment to slide around the edge of the table, rolling her eyes at a few of the handsier crewmen, and the captain shoots Grumpy a challenging look. "Rum all around, love. Why don't you leave the bottle."

She brings two bottles, gold coins jingling in her pockets as she heads back towards the bar, and the game begins without fanfare while they all knock back shots of incredibly strong rum.

The princess lets out a delighted shriek of laughter when she successfully bluffs the captain three separate times, and her grin only widens when two rolls later the play is reversed right back on him. Grumpy watches the whole process in amusement, throwing back his own ale without much thought for the game itself.

Things take a turn for the drunken when the princess manages to roll three separate social drinks, and they soon finish a full bottle of rum. Grumpy finds his eyes darting with less and less subtlety to the pair tucked off together in the corner, grinning secretive smiles at each other while the crew plays their game. There is something sweet and soft in the way that they look at each other, something his heart had yearned for, once upon a time - something he sees every day in the King and Queen. He's not surprised, really, to find the pirate captain so smitten - there is something specific in Snow and Emma that leans towards devoted love - but the way that Emma stares back at the man is impossible to call anything but love.

They should be a stranger pair, but Grumpy can tell that they _fit_. Whatever they've been through together, whatever they've seen or done in the time since they met, they've made the sort of bond that can't be broken by time or distance. Grumpy can respect that.

Grumpy should also learn to drink less in the presence of pirates. 

A few of the men have disappeared, no doubt off in some dark musty corner with a busty wench, and the second bottle of rum is more than half gone, sitting in front of Grumpy while Smee (the man in the red cap, the captains apparent First Mate, though he can't be sure why) tells him a story about the first day he'd met the princess, arguing all the way up the gangplank and into the captains quarters to the eternal annoyance of Captain Hook. Grumpy's head shake is the long suffering commiseration of a man who knows what that's like.

"Of course, within a week she was giving half the orders on the ship," Smee says, only to receive a die to the face. Captain Hook stares across at his First Mate, eyebrow raised in silent question. 

"She did no such thing."

Emma snorts with laughter, patting at his cheek with a condescending quirk to her lips. "Just because you didn't know about them, doesn't mean they didn't happen."

"Bloody _wench_ ," the man says, and both of them grin at each other like besotted fools. 

Yes. Grumpy is beginning to understand why Snow and Charming hadn't prescribed the usual short drop sudden stop method of dealing with pirates on this man. 

By the time the rum bottle is gone, the room has gone a bit hazy, and when Smee claps him on the back after a sharp look from his captain, Grumpy does little more than blink at the man.

"I'll walk you back to the castle," Smee says, and both of their gazes dart to the corner, where Hook and Emma have their heads tilted low together as they murmur quietly to each other. The mans hand is slung across her shoulder, fingers twirling through the curling golden hair falling across her back, and Emma's hand is curled loosely into the lapels of the mans jacket.

Grumpy has had too many drinks to demand she be escorted up to the castle. He's loath to wipe the contented look off her face.

"A fantastic idea, brother," he says, and the two of them lean heavily against each other as they stand, giggling when they both nearly sway themselves right to the floor. 

They're halfway to the door when he feels slim arms wrap themselves around his shoulders, and soft warm lips press themselves into his cheek. He pats at Emma's own cheek on a sloppy grin. "You brought me down here to get me drunk," he tells her, and she shrugs at him. 

"Did I succeed?"

"You know it, sister."

She squeezes his shoulder as Smee yanks at him again, and when he turns to glance back at her he catches the pirate pressing his own soft kiss against the crown of her hair, arms curling around her as she turns her face to look up at him.

The tavern door swings closed, and Grumpy stumbles into the mud on a bright, happy laugh while Smee groans miserably beside him.


End file.
